


Into the Unknown

by agntquake084



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Agents of SHIELD - Fandom, Marvel, Runaways (TV 2017)
Genre: Darkhold, Gen, I HAVE NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE, Izel never happened, Lincoln is alive?, Post-Space Agents of Shield, lincoln - Freeform, please don't hate this, runaways - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2020-01-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:01:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22025239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agntquake084/pseuds/agntquake084
Summary: When Agent Daisy Johnson gets sent to Los Angeles to check out strange readings on the team's specs, she runs into a curious crew of Runaways. After discovering the Runaway's hidden hostel, she meets Nico Minoru, who helps her into the dark dimension to uncover something...or someone?
Comments: 9
Kudos: 19





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic takes place in an AU, right after Fitzsimmons returns from space (meaning the events with Izel do not happen in this universe)!
> 
> This is my first time taking a stab at writing and sharing anything so please be kind! I'd love any feedback or suggestions as I keep going! Thanks for reading :)

Chapter 1

The Lighthouse was quiet, except for the sound of huffing and distant gun shots coming from the shooting range. The agents have been training, for nothing in particular, other than to stay ready in the case that another extinction level threat came their way. 

Since returning from travels in deep space, Fitz and Simmons have been working on revamping their lab with updated tech to better prepare agents for field work. With reluctance from Fitz, Deke plus his enormous staff have been helping to develop this new tech. 

Daisy, on the other hand, has been training consistently, almost too much to Simmons liking. Space travel had taken a toll on Daisy in more ways that one. She had been so focused on finding Fitz that she almost forgot to take care of herself. 

She had taken her anger out on distant planets, exhausting herself. But she never let Simmons know- the search for Fitz was too important for Daisy to lay more burden on Jemma. 

Jemma made her way down to the training room from the lab where she knew Daisy had been working all morning. She poked her head around the corner to see Daisy taking swings at a punching bag, gauntlets stored on the ground next to her. 

“You aren’t wearing your gauntlets.” Jemma remarked. 

Her comment took Daisy by surprise and she quaked the punching bag into the wall, startled. 

She took a deep breath before turning to Jemma. “Um, yea I guess I didn’t realize.”

Simmons wasn’t amused. She walked over and picked up the gauntlets from the ground, handing them to Daisy. “Please Daisy, I can see that you’re pushing yourself too hard. Just…give yourself a break.”

Daisy smiled to herself, grateful for Jemma's concern. She took the gauntlets from Simmons, and placed them in her bag before gathering the rest of her things. 

“I just…feel like I need to keep myself busy that’s all.” Daisy start walking toward the door with Simmons trailing close behind. 

“I want to be ready to fight if something happens again. I can’t stand feeling useless.”

Simmons nodded. “I know, but you’ve done so much already." 

Daisy slowed her pace to walk beside Jemma. They continued together until they reached Daisy’s room, where Jemma smiled and headed back to the lab.

Taking a sigh, Daisy opened her door and went inside. She set her bag down on the desk, glancing too long at the picture frame that sat next to her computer. 

She decided that a hot shower would clear her mind. 

Quickly finishing her shower, Daisy got dressed and sat at her desk. She tried not to look at the picture, but something insider her couldn’t help it. She slowly reached over and held the small frame in her hands. 

Lincoln. One of the few pictures they had taken together. In between missions, over two years ago, the two had managed to slip away to spend some much needed time together before he…she pushed the thought out of her mind. 

Daisy thought back to her conversation with Simmons on the planet Kitson, where she shared that she wanted her own Fitz. Well, not Fitz obviously, but to have someone to love again. 

Even high on alien drugs, Daisy couldn’t get Lincoln out of her mind. There was so much she wanted to do, to say to him. But it was too late. 

Putting the picture back, Daisy decided it was time to speak with the Director about a mission. About anything she could do-instead of training- to keep herself busy.

\---

Knocking gently on the Director’s door, Daisy waited to hear that deep voice call her in. 

She creaked the door open, poking her head around the corner, “Director Mackenize?” 

Mack came around the corner, holding a file in his hand. 

“Ah there she is! Just the agent I wanted to see.” Mack smiled, opening the door wider for her to come in. 

Daisy stepped into the Director’s office, taking a seat on the couch. 

Mack sat next to her, handing Daisy the folder. “Our scanners have been picking up some strange activity. Readings that we can’t exactly explain. They seem to be messing with our specs, and we need an agent to go check it out.”

She looked up at Mack. “And..I’m guessing you want me to go?”

Mack smiled. “I’ve seen how hard you’ve been working. This will be good for you, to be out in the field again, hopefully on a case not too crazy.” 

Daisy nodded. “You got it boss. I’ll have Piper ready the Zephyr.” Daisy stood up, gave Mack one last look, and headed out to get prepped. 

To no one’s surprise, Piper was already ready to go. She had been itching for something to do and was already on her way to prep the Zephyr the second Daisy knocked on her door. 

Bag packed to go, Daisy was halfway out the door when something compelled her to stop. She looked at the picture of her and Lincoln, and decided last minute to grab it. She gently set it in her bag, and made her way to the Zephyr. 

Team ready to go, Piper punched in the coordinates to Los Angeles, California. Ever since Davis died, May had been training Piper to fly the Zephyr. Though she wasn’t nearly as good as Davis, she had just enough skill to get them to California safely. 

California always reminded Daisy of her early days with SHIELD, when she first met Coulson and the team. Well, part of her team. Ward was never really on their side, and thinking about Los Angeles made Daisy’s skin crawl thinking of all she went through there.

Arriving safely, can’t say smoothly, Daisy instructed Piper to remain on the Zephyr in case things turned south and she needed back up. The specs Mack had shared showed strange readings coming from the area around the Griffith Observatory. With the Zephyr parked close by, Daisy zipped up her suit and headed out. 

She followed the specs to a hillside where she saw…nothing except a gorgeous view of Los Angeles. Daisy walked around the hill for a moment, trying to figure out if there was anything there. Turning on her coms, she called into Fitzsimmons in the lab. 

“Hey guys, I’m not seeing anything up here other than…well, hillside. And Los Angeles. And more hillside”

Fitz pulled up the maps on the screen in the lab. 

“Hey yep, I’m pulling up the specs now.” 

Daisy kept walking around waiting for Fitz to give her an idea of where to go. 

“Okay Daisy, so, if you move to the right, it looks almost like a...vent? Or some kind of wire gate?”

“Got it. Thanks Fitz.” Daisy moved the brush away to see a grate on the side of the hill. Moving the grate aside, she realized that it was some kind of an entrance into what looked like a living space. 

Daisy wakled into a huge room, antique furniture lining basically everywhere and an elaborate chandelier on the side of a massive staircase. 

“Fitz? Is this where the readings were coming from?” She waited. 

“Fitz?” Seemed like her coms had cut out. She took a careful step into the room, stopping just in front of the staircase.

She tilted her head, trying to listen for any sounds of life before moving any further into the...hideaway? Daisy didn't even know what to call it.

What is this?, Daisy thought to herself. She had never seen any kind of hideout like this before. She looked around the room again, and put one foot on the bottom stair. Before she could get any further, something, or someone, had jumped onto her, knocking her back.

Daisy was flung backward, sliding across the floor until she came to a stop. After her head bounced off the floor, she looked up to see a young girl with glowing yellow eyes and a pink beanie, pushing her into the ground. 

“Who are you and what do you want!” the girl yelled. 

Daisy’s head was still spinning from the punch. “Dang you’re strong.” She let out a light laugh. 

The girl smirked, still keeping her hands on Daisy’s shoulders, pinning her to the ground. 

“My name is Agent Daisy Johnson. I’m with SHIELD.” 

The girl tilted her head, confused, and slowly moved back. 

“SHIELD? What are you guys doing here?"

Daisy sat up on her elbows, coughing. “We noticed some weird readings coming from here and I was sent to check it out.”

“Molly, back away from her.” Daisy turned to follow the raspy voice, finding a small girl dressed in all black, holding... a stick?

Molly moved away, helping Daisy up to her feet. 

“Um, sorry to barge in. I’m Agent Daisy Johnson.” Daisy took a few steps forward, toward the girl.

“Why are you here? And how did you find this place? We don't need any help."

“Help? Did something happen here?” Daisy was just as confused.

Sending Molly upstairs, the girl in all black came down.

“I’m Nico," she said, stopping to stand in front of Daisy."How about you explain why you’re here before we throw you out.”

Daisy smiled. She liked Nico’s confidence. This obviously annoyed Nico, as she gripped the staff tighter, slightly extending it outward.

Standing up slowly, Daisy put her hands out to show that she wasn’t armed and that she meant no harm. “Hey, I’m just as confused as you are.” 

Nico didn’t look convinced. “We’ve had enough visitors in the past month to last lifetime, we don’t need anyone else dropping by to cause more damage.” 

“Listen,” Daisy started, “I just have a few questions. I think we can both help each other out.”

As Daisy talked, she noticed movement from upstairs. She turned her head and as she did, Nico yelled “Freeze!”

With Daisy frozen in time for a brief moment, Nico walked up stairs to her resident visitors, Ty and Tandy, who were overlooking from the balcony. 

\---

“What’s up with her?” Tandy nodded her head toward Daisy, awkwardly frozen with her arms extended out. 

Nico shrugged, “I’m not too sure. Sounds like she might have missing information about everything that just happened?”

Ty looked confused. “So…why did you freeze her then?”

“I don’t know, you can never been too certain anymore with all these surprise visitors we keep getting.” Nico scoffed. 

She looked at Tandy. “Can you do your thing when I unfreeze her?”

Tandy looked uncertain. “I don’t know Nico…” 

She could tell that Nico wanted to trust this girl, so Tandy nodded and the two of them headed down the stairs.

“Let’s talk to her first though. Find out what she wants before we do anything else.”

Nico nodded. Once down the stairs, Nico waved the staff and Daisy was unfrozen.

Daisy tilted her head, confused as to how Tandy had suddenly appeared next to Nico. 

“Okay, hi?” Tandy let out a faint hi back, standing slightly behind Nico.

“So again, why are you here?” Nico asked.

Daisy sighed. “I’m an agent with SHIELD, and our Director informed me that there were strange readings coming from this location. He wanted me to come check it out and thus, here I am.” Daisy crossed her arms. 

Tandy and Nico looked at each other. Daisy raised an eyebrow, waiting for them to start talking. 

Nico explained the situation with Morgan Le Fay, and how she tried to bring the Dark Dimension crashing into theirs. 

The Dark Dimension? Daisy had heard of that before, when Robbie had taken the Darkhold to some kind of ‘in-between’ world, so this must be the same one. 

“So, you guys actually went into that…dark dimension to get your friend back?” Daisy asked.

Nico nodded to Ty, perched on the edge of the railing at the top of the staircase. 

“Ty was able to take us there and bring us back.” 

“So, you made it back, and how exactly did you defeat this Morgan lady?” Daisy asked. 

Nico explained that her mom had been able to read a book called the Darkhold, which told her exactly how to send Morgan back.

“You used what now?” Daisy was taken aback. “Please tell me you sent that book back with her.”

Nico looked over at Tandy, uneasy. “No we still have it here.”

Daisy started pacing back and forth. How did it get out of Robbie’s hands? She gave Nico, Tandy and Ty a quick summary of the events with their good friend Ghost Rider. 

“I need to take that book back to Robbie in the Dark Dimension, since you obviously have a way of getting me there.” Daisy nodded to Ty, indicating that she wanted him to take her there. 

“Woah, woah, not so fast. I think we can keep it pretty safe here.” Nico replied, defensive. 

“This is now under official SHIELD jurisdiction and we can take it from here.” Daisy was starting to get annoyed. 

Nico glanced at Tandy. Tandy reached out and grabbed Daisy by the hand, looking into her hopes to find out if they could trust her. 

\---

In Tandy and Daisy's shared vision, Daisy and a man were sitting together on a couch in a quiet, New York apartment. Tandy noticed that Daisy looked different. Darker, shorter hair, and she looked more…relaxed? She was holding a mug of coffee, head leaning on the man's shoulder, who was reading a book. 

They had a small fire going, framed pictures of the two of them lining the fireplace. A small, golden dog sat curled at Daisy’s feet. She had a vintage, rose gold ring on her finger. The man looked down at her resting head and smiled. 

Daisy turned her face up to him, putting one hand on his scruffy cheek, before she lightly kissed him. His hands sparked before he put one hand around the back of her head to return the kiss. 

\---

Back in reality, Tandy pulled her hand away. She gave a shy glance at Daisy, who was looking at her feet, nose scrunched trying to figure out what just happened.

Daisy took in a sharp breath, ignoring the vision that they just shared, “Are you..” she paused. “Are you inhuman?” 

Tandy shook her head. “Just gifted from an accident.” She glanced up at Ty, sharing a small smile. 

Looking back at Daisy, Tandy asked, “Who was that man, with the sparking hands? Is he here too?"

Daisy jerked her head back up from the floor. “He is…or he was, my boyfriend. But he died and that’s that.”

Seeing Lincoln in Tandy’s vision was too much for Daisy. She had been thinking about him more and more each day. She felt like she could hear his voice before she made any decision. This couldn’t be a coincidence.

Shaking off her thoughts, Daisy stood up straighter, directing her attention to Nico and Tandy. "Look, I don't know what that just was, but please, you have to trust me. If the Darkhold were to get into the wrong hands...I don't even want to think about what madness could happen."

She went on, "Let me get in contact with our Director, explain the situation to him and you guys can even talk with him if you don't trust me. You have a way of getting that book back to the Dark Dimension, and I know who the book goes to, so I think this is our best option." 

Daisy waited for them to respond. Nico glanced at Tandy and nodded. "Fine. We don't need to talk to your Director or whatever. Just, give us some time to gear up and you do the same." 

Daisy let out a sigh. "Meet back here in an hour?" They agreed and Daisy headed back to the Zephyr. As she left, her comms suddenly came back on. 

"Daisy? Daisy c'mon!" she heard Fitz on the other end, obviously annoyed and concerned. 

"Here, sorry. Get the Director, we have a lot to talk about." From inside, Nico waved the staff, turning Daisy's comms back on. When strangers show up at the hostel, she can never be too sure. Nico hooked the Staff of One onto her belt and went upstairs to wait.


	2. Chapter 2

Back in the Zephyr, Daisy explained the situation to Piper and waited for the team back at the Lighthouse to call in. 

Once Daisy told Mack and Fitzsimmons everything, Mack reluctantly gave her the go-ahead. 

“I don’t feel to great about this one Tremors,” Mack said, apprehensively. 

Daisy sighed. “I know, but what other choice do we have?” 

“Well,” Fitz started, “We’ve been working on improving the comms so that they can work cross dimension. You should still be able to call in if you need anything. We also gave Robbie Reyes a special set of comms before he left- you should be able to find him.”

“Thanks Fitz.” Daisy smiled. “Alright, it’s time for me to head out. I’ll see you guys soon.” Hanging up the video call, she turned to Piper.

“I need you to stay here. I don’t know when I’ll be back, but I want you to watch over in case anything…weird happens.” 

Piper nodded. “You got it. See you soon Daisy.”

Daisy headed to her bunk to get ready. 

When she got into her small room, she laid back on the bed. This is too crazy, she thought. 

Sitting up, she thought about that vision she shared with Tandy. She still didn’t fully understand what that was, but she did know one thing- she was still in love with Lincoln. 

After all this time, she couldn’t get him out of her head. Daisy knew that he was gone, but she missed him more and more each day. 

She took the small picture frame from her bag, tears welling in her eyes. She forced the thought from her mind and placed the frame back in the bag. 

Daisy had time to think about him after she got back from this mission. Right now, she needed to figure out how to find Robbie.

—

Arriving back at the hideout, Daisy waited at the bottom of the staircase for Ty, Tandy and Nico to come down. She noticed the young girl, Molly, watching her from upstairs. 

Daisy adjusted her gauntlets, and without looking up said, “So, are you inhuman too?”

“No, I don’t even know what that means. I got my powers from an explosion.”

Daisy looked up at her. “Well, you’re quite strong for being so young. You could be a great asset to SHIELD one day.” 

“That’s not going to happen.” Nico came down the stairs, trailed by Ty and Tandy. Nico was carrying a red satchel with what Daisy assumed to be the Darkhold inside. 

“Molly, watch the Hostel while we’re gone. We’ll be back soon.” Nico ordered. Molly nodded and retreated to her room, closing the door behind her. 

Ty stepped forward. “So,” he took a breath, “are we ready to go?”

The mix-matched crew looked at each other, ready to get this done with. 

“Everyone grab hands,” Ty instructed. 

Forming a small circle, Ty and Tandy interlaced fingers. Nico, grabbing Tandy’s other hand, extended her free hand to Daisy.

Daisy sighed and grabbed Nico and Ty’s free hands. 

“Hold tight.” Ty looked at Daisy and before she knew it, a black mist surrounded them. There was a sensation of flying almost, and next thing Daisy knew, they were back standing in the Hostel.

But this time, the Hostel looked different…more rustic and vintage. The staircase was covered in vines and flowers, and the decorations seemed reminiscent of the 1920s. 

“Is this the right place?” Daisy asked?

The three others nodded, obviously recognizing the place.

Nico looked ahead of them to the French doors on the left, with pools of light coming through the curtains. 

“The first time we were here, we all got split up,” Nico explained. “Then, the last time we were here, we were able to stay together. Who knows what will happen when we walk through those doors.”

Daisy glanced over to meet Nico’s gaze. “I’ll take the Darkhold. You guys can wait here or come with me. I just need to find Robbie and return the book to him.” 

Nico glanced down at the satchel on her shoulder. “Not a chance. Ty, Tandy,” she turned to them. “You two wait here. Daisy and I will return the book to her friend and come back. If we aren’t back by nightfall, come find us.”

Ty and Tandy nodded. “Good luck,” Tandy gave a weak smile and the two headed upstairs. 

Nico turned back to Daisy. “Let’s get this over with.” 

She walked to the French doors, Daisy trailing behind. Glancing at each other, Nico pushed the doors open, revealing a gloomy, distorted version of Los Angeles. 

“Good,” Nico sighed, “looks like we won’t get split up this time.” Together, the two girls stepped outside.

“So how do we find this friend…” Nico trailed off, realizing that Daisy was no longer standing next to her. She rolled her eyes, “You’ve got to be kidding me.” 

—

In the blink of an eye, the scenery around Daisy had changed. She called out for Nico but realized she was alone. 

She took a breath and took in her surroundings. She was in the Zephyr control room. Everything felt off, like she was standing in the shadow of a scene. 

Daisy turned, seeing Fitzsimmons running into the room, May and Coulson standing just behind watching. 

She knew this wasn’t reality. She remembered what Nico had explained before, about how the first time they entered this in-between dimension, they were taken to different moments in their life that happened in the past. 

But not just any moment- they were taken to some kind of defining moment in their lives.

Daisy knew this moment. She had lived it in her mind over and over again. She turned and immediately took off running to the hangar. 

“Lincoln!” Daisy screamed. She knew what happened next, and this time, she was there to stop it. Or at least try to.

She reached the hangar, where she saw Lincoln climbing up the ramp to enter the quinjet. 

Hearing his name, Lincoln turned and looked down at Daisy, standing breathless at the bottom of the ramp. Tears began streaming down her face.

“I didn’t think I would get to see you again.” She gave a faint smile. 

“Daisy? What are you doing here?” Lincoln looked concerned. 

“Please, Lincoln, just wait.” She walked up the ramp to him. Hesitantly, she reached up and put her hand on his cheek. He looked down at her, wiping away a loose tear. 

“How did you find me?” He asked.

“What do you mean? This is just a memory.” Daisy was confused. She looked around the quinjet, realizing it was just the two of them- no Hive. This was that memory though, Hive should be here, Daisy thought. 

Lincoln sighed. “I know. It’s yours, and mine.” He walked over to take a seat inside the jet. 

Daisy followed and sat next to him, waiting.

“When I flew the quinjet up into space with Hive,” he paused, “The last thing I remember was looking out at the Earth.”

He went on, “The next thing I know, I wake up here and the whole scene plays out again. Taking the necklace from you, running up to the quinjet, taking off, hearing your voice on the comms…”

Daisy looked own at her hands. That conversation plays on a loop in her mind, like elevator music that she can’t turn off. 

Lincoln continued. “I’m stuck here Daisy. Somehow, when that explosion went off, I was brought here. I’ve left before, taken the quinjet back to Earth, only to get off and find myself walking around a gloomy Los Angeles.” 

Daisy looked up, remembering her mission. “Lincoln, this is all…so much right now. But I need your help. I have to get back to Los Angeles. I have to find the people I came here with."

Lincoln chuckled, “I wish I could get you there Daisy, but after living this scenario over and over again, the quinjet lost power."

“Okay so that shouldn’t be a problem,” Daisy perked up. “Just turn on the spark and we can take off.”

“It doesn’t work like that here. Our powers don’t work in this dimension.”

Daisy stood up and put out her hand, but as Lincoln said, nothing happened. She kept trying. 

“Ugh! You’ve got to be KIDDING me!” Daisy paced back and forth. “Okay, um, well Fitzsimmons have been working on new tech. Maybe I can use something to jump start the jet.” 

She walked over to the controls, seeing the fried wires hanging loosely under the flight panel. Getting down on her knees, she bent under the panel and pulled out a small device that Fitz had given her before she left.

It was some kind of mini generator. She held up the small needle-like end to the wires and hit the button at the bottom. A spark went off and she leaned her head back. A light buzzing noise started, and the lights on the panel all turned on. 

“Ha! You did it!” Lincoln walked over and helped Daisy up from the ground. 

Daisy stood, peering up at him. “I can’t believe it’s actually you.” She wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him in for a hug. He was here, and he was real. For a moment, she forgot that there was a more serious mission at hand. 

Lincoln pulled away, putting his hands on her shoulders. “Let’s head out.”

He sat in the control seat and together, they headed for Los Angeles. 

—

They flew in silence, not sure what to talk about. Daisy wanted to tell him everything he missed, but she didn’t know if he wanted that. As they neared LA, she turned to him. 

“I’m-I’m sorry that you’ve been stuck here. Reliving…this moment.” 

Keeping his eyes on the sky, Lincoln replied. “It’s better than being dead dead.” He let out a light chuckle. 

Daisy reached out and put a hand on his arm. He looked over at her. “I just, I never got to tell you that I-“

Before Daisy could finish her sentence, Los Angeles came into view and the quinjet was jerked forward. They were suddenly flying too fast to land safely.

“Lincoln! Slow us down!” Daisy yelled. 

“I'm not the one doing this!” 

As they neared the street, the quinjet came to a jerking stop. Daisy and Lincoln were jolted forward, lucky to be strapped in or they would’ve flown through the front dash. 

With the quinjet hovering just above the street, Daisy unbuckled herself and peered out the front window. She looked down to see none other than Nico, staff in hand, holding the quinjet in place.

Nico, seeing Daisy through the window, lowered the jet to the ground. She walked to the back of the jet as the ramp lowered.

“What the heck was that!” Daisy stormed down the ramp to meet Nico at the bottom. Lincoln lingered inside the jet. 

“Hey, when you see a giant, random jet flying in your direction, you tell me how to react!” Rolling her eyes, Nico stored the staff away, adjusting the strap of the satchel on her shoulder. 

“Good to see you still have the book at least.” Daisy smirked. 

“We gotta get moving, it’s getting dark. Time works differently around here.” Nico started to walk away from the quinjet back toward the streets.

“Wait just, give me a second.” Daisy headed back up the ramp to where Lincoln stood.

Nico, glancing back, nodded. 

“Lincoln, come with us.” 

He shook his head, “I can’t. Every time I come here, I’m just sent right back. Seems like this dimension doesn’t like when you don’t follow it’s orders.” 

Daisy looked down at her feet. She nodded. She knew there was nothing else she could say to keep him here, but she couldn’t stand knowing what he went through everyday.

She grabbed his hand and looked up at him. He smiled faintly before leaning down, gently kissing her before disappearing. Daisy opened here eyes to see both Lincoln and the quinjet gone. 

“I love you.” Daisy whispered under her breath. Wiping the tears from her cheeks, she turned and walked past Nico down the street.

Nico jogged to catch up with Daisy. She assumed the man was the one from Tandy’s vision. They walked in silence, before Nico turned to Daisy. 

“So, how are we supposed to find your friend?” 

Daisy straightened her shoulders. Right, she thought, we have to find Robbie. 

“Robbie has a set of comms that we gave him. My team was able to amp up our comms to work across dimensions.” Hopefully, she thought to herself. 

The two stopped under a street lamp. “Okay,” Nico started, “let’s give him a call then.”

Daisy nodded. She reached up and clicked on the comms. She heard static from the other end, and then grunting. 

“Robbie? Are you there?”

She waited for a response. There was heavy breathing and sounds of punches being thrown in the air. 

Daisy kept calling his name until she heard a faint, “Daisy, is that you?” from the other end. 

“Yes, Robbie, it’s me. Where are you?”

“Daisy, hurry, I need help. I’m-I’m on Hollywood Boulevard and I-“

The comms cut out. Daisy glanced at Nico, and without saying a word, the two took off running down the street.


	3. Chapter 3

Daisy was lucky that she had spent so much time in LA; she knew the exact streets to turn down in order to get to Robbie on Hollywood Boulevard. 

To their dismay, Hollywood Boulevard is long, and Robbie wasn’t too specific when he told Daisy where he was. 

They made it to the Chinese Theatre when they stopped to catch their breath. 

“Where…” Nico was out of breath, “is your friend exactly?”

Daisy, hands on her knees, breathing, stood up straight and looked around her. “I don’t know. But it sounded like he was in a fight so we need to find him fast."  
Daisy started slowly walking down the street, ears turned up to catch any sounds of fighting. 

Further down the street, Daisy stopped suddenly, Nico bumping into her from behind. 

“Watch it,” Nico scoffed. Daisy hushed her, listening. 

She turned to the right, hearing something, but not fighting. She heard crackling of fire. Robbie.

Daisy turned to Nico, “C’mon!” The two started running the lengthy two blocks until they reached a nearby park. 

At the top of a hill, Daisy saw Robbie, head ablaze, fighting someone. She couldn’t see who, but she could tell that more people were coming. 

“Seriously!” Daisy was tired, without powers, and needed to help. “We run all the way here, and now we have to hike to the top. Geez, okay let’s go.”

Nico put a hand out, stopping Daisy from waking forward. She pulled out the staff from where it was safely hooked on her belt, holding it out in front of her. 

Turning to Daisy, “Start running on three.” 

Daisy nodded. “One…two..three!” The two took off running and with a quick command, Nico yelled “Ascend!”

Before they knew it, Daisy and Nico landed safely at the top of the mountain. 

“Woah. That’s one magic stick you got there.” Daisy had to chuckle. 

Something must be different about Nico’s powers, since hers obviously didn’t work here. Even still, Daisy adjusted her gauntlets, grateful that Simmons made her pack them before she left. 

Daisy took off running to Robbie. As she got closer, she noticed him fighting at least 5 other people.

Without her powers, Daisy had to put her weeks of training to use. She had told Nico to stand back to guard the Darkhold until they could get Robbie alone. 

Nico retreated down the hill, just enough that she could still see Daisy, but far enough away that she was hidden by brush and out of others’ view. 

Running up beside Daisy, she knocked one of the people off Robbie and to the side. Robbie, with his head ablaze, turned and nodded to Daisy. Even when Ghost Rider took over, he could still appreciate the help.

The man Daisy had knocked to the ground was laying face down. She slowly turned, bringing herself to her feet. Daisy cocked her head to the side. She recognized him as one of the men Hive had tried to turn.

“You gotta be kidding me.” Daisy ducked, as the man’s hand swung at her face. She kicked the back of his knees, bringing him to a kneeling position on the ground, before she took her own knee to under his chin. 

He fell back, as an arm wrapped around Daisy’s neck, choking her. She was being pulled back, thrashing her arm against the one around her throat.

She jabbed her elbow back, making contact with someone’s nose. His head snapped back just enough to release Daisy from his grasp. 

With a quick turn, she kicked him in the stomach, pushing him backwards. She felt a rush of hot air fly next to her and the man was thrown back into the brush. Ghost Rider had thrown a fire ball at him, knocking him down. 

She turned around, realizing that everyone had been taken down. Daisy started walking toward Ghost Rider, whose fire was slowly diminishing as he transformed back into Robbie. 

Robbie turned his head to the top of the hill, Daisy meeting his gaze. Someone was walking down toward them. 

As he got closer, Daisy recognized him. Of course he would be here. He wasn’t in the quinjet with Lincoln, which meant he had to be somewhere.

Hive. 

Daisy glanced at Robbie. “Seriously?” She threw her hand toward Hive’s direction. He was still wearing Grant Ward’s body, with a smug, stern expression on his face. 

“He came here looking for the Darkhold,” Robbie explained. “He’s been sending his little minions after me for months since I got back.”

They watched Hive walk down the hill, almost in slow motion, giving them a chance to talk while they watched him. 

“What does he want?” Daisy asked. 

Robbie shrugged. “I’m assuming he got in contact with that witch woman, Morgan Le Fay.” Daisy recognized that name from what Nico told her.

Robbie went on, “She took the Darkhold from me, claiming that it belonged to her. And then she disappeared to your dimension. She must be gone, since she never came back.” 

Daisy nodded. “The people I came here with took care of her. We came to bring the Darkhold back to you." 

Robbie’s eyes widened. “You guys have to get out of here. If Hive gets it, who knows what he’ll try to do. We can’t risk him getting back to your dimension.” 

Daisy nervously glanced back to where Nico was hiding in the brush. At least Nico was far enough away that Hive wouldn’t see her. 

Robbie and Daisy watched as Hive got closer. A shiver ran down Daisy’s spine. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. 

Hive stopped, far enough away from Robbie and Daisy, but close enough for them to hear him speak. 

“Daisy,” he hissed, with a sinister grin. “It’s been a long time.”

Daisy shivered. She couldn’t stand looking at him or hearing his voice. 

Hive took a step forward, arms out, almost in a greeting. “I’m glad you’ve come here. I think you might have what I need.” 

“Not likely,” Daisy said through gritted teeth. 

She clenched her fist. This would be the time that she would quake him back, but this dimension wouldn’t allow that for whatever ridiculous reason. 

Instead, they’d have to find another option. Daisy nervously glanced at Robbie. She didn’t know what else he could do. It was starting to get dark, and Daisy knew they were running out of time. 

Robbie moved toward Hive, hands up to show he wasn’t armed. “Look, we don’t have what you want. Why don’t you just go back to your hole and stay there.” 

Hive smirked. “That’s not possible,” he hissed. “I know you have what I need, I can sense your nervousness.” He glanced at Daisy; her body tensed.

“And why do you think we would give anything to you, amigo?” Robbie was getting angry. Daisy could see the glow of Ghost Rider peaking through behind Robbie’s eyes. 

She took a step closer to him, warning him not to loose control quite yet. They needed to be strategic. 

There was something about Hive that was different. He was filled with more rage, a certain gleam in his eyes that told Daisy to be careful. 

“My business back out in the world was left unfinished.” Hive paced back and forth, hands clasped calmly behind his back. 

“Morgan Le Fay was unable to bring me back as we discuss, so now I must do it myself.” He threw his hand forward and with some invisible force, Daisy was thrown backward. She skidded, hitting a boulder placed next to where Nico was hiding in the brush. 

Head spinning, Daisy rolled on her side to face Nico. “You have to get out of here.” Daisy whispered. The Darkhold wasn’t safe here. 

Pulling herself back to her feet, Daisy watched as Robbie’s head cocked to the side before erupting into flames. Pulling a chain from his back pocket, Ghost Rider whipped his arm back, catching the chain on fire, before throwing it in Hive’s direction. 

Daisy ran to help. Nico watched from the brush. She couldn’t just stand back and watch these people die. Securing the Darkhold in the satchel, Nico pulled the staff from her belt and stepped out of the brush.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took so long to post! I've been in a writers block but we're finally getting somewhere. I hope you all enjoy!

No longer hidden from view, Hive momentarily turned his attention to Nico. Ghost Rider, taking advantage of the distraction, wrapped his fiery chain around Hive’s knees, pulling him to the ground. 

Holding the staff in front of her, a darkness took over Nico’s eyes. As she watched Hive crawl to a standing position from the ground, chains still flaming, reaching toward Daisy, Nico yelled “Vanish!” 

Something like a black mist was spread across the hillside, engulfing Hive and when it cleared, he was gone. Daisy and Robbie, who had returned to himself again, turned to look in Nico’s direction. 

Daisy clenched and unclenched her fist. It was almost dark out and they had no idea if Hive would show up again or if any more of his minions would come back around. She walked over to Nico.

“Where did he go?” she demanded.

“I- I don’t know.”

Daisy didn’t have time to ask questions. They needed to get out of there and fast. A thick black mist, similar to what made Hive disappear, began forming in front of them. 

They all jumped back, waiting to see if Hive returned or not. To their luck, a small blonde emerged from the mist. 

“Tandy?” Nico ran over to meet her. Ty stands up from a crouch. 

He scans the area. “We better get out of here before we all start forgetting things or something comes out.”

Nico turns back to Daisy, indicating that it’s time to go. 

“Robbie, wait.” Daisy turns to Robbie, who was slowly turning to walk away. “Come with us. We can use you to debrief and figure out what to do next.”

Robbie looked back at the kids, standing in a huddle talking quietly. “I can’t. The dimension won’t let me leave, so I’ll stay here and you call me on comms when needed.” He put a hand on her shoulder and turned to walk away. 

Daisy walked back to the group. “Let’s go.” 

Ty nodded. The four grabbed hands and within a second, they were emerging from the black mist back in the hostel. 

Daisy immediately started pacing back and forth. “We have to make sure the Darkhold stays here with Robbie.” 

“Calm down, Agent.” Daisy could feel Nico’s eyes roll from behind her. 

“Is this a joke to you? If Hive gets the Darkhold, who knows what he’ll do to get back to our dimension.” Daisy was getting angry.

“A joke? To ME? I just saved your ass back there!” Nico threw her arms out. 

Daisy plopped on the floor. She was wiped out. Something about this dimension was wearing her down much quicker. 

Nico glanced over at Daisy. She didn’t mean to be so harsh. “I just, don’t know what you want us to do now.” 

Daisy pulled off her gauntlets with a grimace and set them down next to her. “Let’s get some rest and we can re-evaluate in the morning. Those…things out there can’t get in here, can they?”

Nico shrugged. “Not likely they could even find it up here.” She turned and walked up the stairs, trailed by Ty and Tandy.

Glancing around the entry hall in the hostel, Daisy spotted a couch next to the staircase. She forced her self up from the ground and made her way over. She unzipped the top of her suit, folded it up, and place it on the floor with her gauntlets and shoes. 

Daisy knew that Nico wouldn’t be up for what she wanted to do. She had to find a way to get the Darkhold from Nico and go out on her own- it was the only way anything would get done. But first, she need to get some sleep. 

—

Daisy woke up a few hours later. It was still dark out, but she could see the grey-tinted sun coming in through the windows. She knew she had to be quick, so she slipped on her shoes and pulled on her suit top, zipping it up. She snagged her gauntlets from the ground, buckling them in as she quietly made her way up the stairs.

This dimension’s version of the hostel was obviously much newer than the one she had first entered. Even with the overgrown plants on the stair railing, the steps were quiet. 

Reaching the landing, Daisy looked for the door she thought would be Nico’s. A door on her left was cracked open. Peeking her head around the corner, she could see Ty and Tandy sleeping. 

Stepping away from that door, she took an observation of the doors left. There was one directly in front of her, and at least four more down the hall. She decided to try the one right in front of her first. Gently twisting the doorknob, the door slowly inched open. 

There was a huge bed in front of her, with a tiny figure on it, with her back to the door. Nico’s room. Well that was easy, Daisy thought. 

Before stepping into the room, Daisy looked around for the satchel Nico had stashed the Darkhold in. She spotted it in the corner, next to a shelf. Without making a noise, Daisy crouched on all fours and crawled over the corner. She slid the satchel across the floor where it landed just next to the door. 

Not quite as far as she had hoped, but close enough. Starting her crawl back out, Nico started rustling in her bed. Now or never, Daisy thought. While the rustling of the bed sheets continued as Nico turned, Daisy took advantage of the noise and gently quaked the satchel out the door. She quickly stood up, and closed the door behind her, careful not to make any noise. 

Slinging the satchel cross-body, Daisy swiftly ran down the stairs and to the French doors. Opening one door, she slid out and into the morning.

—

Taking the same path that she and Nico took the day before, Daisy reached the clearing from last night. Stopping to take a breather, Daisy turned on her comms.

“Robbie? It’s Daisy, are you there?”

She heard static on the other end before a raspy voice responded. “Why are you up so early?” 

Daisy chuckled. “I may have done something I probably shouldn’t have. I need you to come meet me in the clearing from yesterday and hurry.”

She heard grumbling, the crinkling of sheets and blankets being tossed aside. “Fine, give me 15 minutes.” 

The comms clicked off. 

Daisy paced along the grass for what felt like hours before Robbie finally arrived in his charger. Even in this dimension Robbie was never seen without his beloved car. 

Raising a curious eyebrow, Daisy walked up to the rolled down window. “Sweet ride. Still does it’s fun tricks even on this side?”

“Si mija,” Robbie patted the steering wheel. 

Robbie noticed the satchel slung across Daisy’s shoulder. “I’m assuming what we’re doing has something to do with the mystery item in the bag?” He nodded toward the satchel. 

Daisy sighed. “Look, Nico, she- she didn’t want to leave the Darkhold here. She thought we should take it back with us, but it’s safer here than out there.” 

Robbie nodded. He knew Daisy was right but given the Hive situation, leaving it there didn’t sound much better. 

“Do I want to know what you have planned?” 

Daisy glanced around, taking a breath. “No…but I think it’s our only option.”

She paused before continuing. “We have to find Hive and take him out. We did it once in our world and now we have you to do it here.”

Robbie chuckled before unlocking the passenger side door. Daisy got in, tossing the satchel at her feet before the charger revved and took off.


End file.
